I wonder if there is any way to recallibrate the GPS or BlueDot function on the map? For instance, standing at the head of the tee pad for hole one the player could hit a button to center the map to where i am. The reason being that I’m always off by a diagonal of at least a few yards or more. I think it would be a great update to do a live recalibration if i knew how…does this already exist?
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Hi Scott, UDisc utilizes the GPS service of your device. There are a few reasons that a reading may not be accurate, and this article contains some tips to hopefully help in this regard. However, since UDisc simply relies on the GPS of you phone, there is no way to make it more accurate. Some devices additionally have a way to recalibrate the compass, instructions on how to do this can often be found online, and this may help in getting a more accurate GPS location.
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Greetings Marky,
I just came here to say that I really like the app and I want to support the small business behind it. As a user, I understand the ultimate goal of the app is to help improve both my individual performance as well as grow the sport as much as possible. In this effort, the company has added a feature to track not just scores on every hole, but distance and accuracy of every throw. These throw tracking features enable professional-level statistics literally at the push of a button! An amazing achievement… if the implementation hit the mark.
Unfortunately that mark was not hit.
I got a lot of pop ups in the app asking me to try the feature. That’s why I eventually did. I had to fight my way through the busy interface to figure out its simplicity. Then I had to tolerate the inaccuracy of throw measures due to GPS. The entire experience left me without any of the benefits intended by its designers. I truly gave it a fair shake, but decided ultimately that the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze. My stats do not reflect my performance that day.
Think about it. If you want your users to try a new feature–and you obviously do–you’d solicit and integrate their feedback. Well here, OP gave you some feedback. What was your response? “Your phone is at fault, there’s nothing we can do.” I’m sorry but I think that is a complete load of bullshit!
Not only did you tell someone–in the community you’re trying to help build–to go pound sand, but you missed an opportunity to improve a feature that would take your product to the next level!
As a professional in technology, I understand how difficult it can be to remain agile while delivering value to maintain the bottom line. Believe me, I’m not trying to throw sand in your crock pot, I wouldn’t have taken the time to write this unless I really wanted this feature to work. (100% human-authored)
I thought OP’s suggestion was thoughtful. They said a few yards, but i’ve seen it off by 100’ or more. And honestly, I had the same idea after giving up on the feature. I googled around using my favorite search engine StartPage, and found this post.
In software there is always a solution, it’s a classic “pick two” scenario. But often times, I find a simple workaround exists that both offers relief and makes the first step in the direction of a final solution. An easy win-win as they say: an offer you can’t refuse.
Let’s say it’s too difficult to add the feature OP suggested: a button when clicked that tells the app (and by proxy, the ecosystem), “no the tee pad is here,” or the pin, or whatever. Let’s say it’s too many story points to take that data, aggregate it, average it, and feed it back into the original layout coordinates, either as a notice to the course maintainer, or an automatic adjustment. Let’s just say that’s too hard to do this year. Not even one single piece of that data pipeline. Realistically.
I get it. We love and support you and we want you to succeed. Can we hug?
So how about a simpler idea? Something that can bridge the usage gap without so much overhead. Let’s take some inventory.
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GPS signal. It’s not something you can control or normalize globally, but it’s fairly accurate for 1 device if you account for drift. You can do that by asking the user to spend 10 extra seconds to confirm the reading my spinning in a circle, but don’t require it. Then average that period of readings. Sounds like overhead. Okay. The “accounting for drift” idea can always be added later.
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Map. Either you maintain your own globe (guessing not) or just the coordinates that can overlay course items, you have a lot more control, but these are maintained by 3rd parties and the logistics around opt-ins for a new integration is overhead. Fiddlesticks!
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App Interface. You have all the control. You could easily add a setting to enable beta features like GPS feedback or even GPS offsets!
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Permissions to the users device (other misc). Let’s not think too hard about this one
Hmmm that’s an interesting idea. Instead of a complicated data pipeline and global GPS offsets (boy, that does sound scary when I say it out loud!) a more short-term, economical, and local version of offsets…
Oh my god I just had this idea!
I think the main culprit of usability is the fact that the app FORCES YOU to measure a throw from a point on the map… A GLOBALLY inaccurate data point. If i’m standing on the tee but the blue dot is way over somewhere else, why can’t we just tell the app to start measuring my throw from my GPS location instead of the globally inaccurate location?
I mean, you already have the measure throw feature in the settings menu!
Your new feature, if you choose to accept it, would be to “detach" the measure endpoints from the round-tracking feature–optionally of course. Detach anything linked to a saved point on the map so that throw distances are more accurate off the tee, and distance to pin can be calculated after the chains bang and you pick up your disc. You already ask the user how close the putt was, so just do that.
!!!
IF YOU ONLY READ ONE PARAGRAPH:
I want to see my approach to the pin. I don’t care if it overlays on the map icons exactly. It’s not that far off and that would be better than the status quo.
!!!
Here’s what that gets you…
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A/B testing usage of your new feature against the status quo (don’t take my word for it)!
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If it doesn’t work out, easy to undo.
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Maybe just maybe, you get more feedback by people who became inspired when you at least tried to deliver a better experience.
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This leads to more improvements, usage, and maybe justification for another subscription tier to fund further development that adds professional-level stats to your app. Believe me, amateurs LOVE TO SPEND money on things that MAKE THEM FEEL more professional
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Satisfaction that you’ve met a challenge and thrived to create a better UX.
We’re just talking about adding a button (optionally) and a few extra conditionals that point to features you already have! And you open the door to more fucking revenue, baby! Or am I missing something?
Helpfully Yours,
Tony 
PS- your link is broken
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Tony and Marky
I love the response Tony and the details you put in. I being a late night only have one thing to offer which is that blue dot that’s not on the designated designated square indicating the T pad that I’m standing on…. My fix is at the beginning of the round. I stand on one and hit the button and that attaches my drift to the map and the correction is made from there if I get to the next keypad and I noticed I’ve drifted We have a button to re-synchronize again that resets the drift so at each keypad, the player could simply show the system where they are and the system could make the correction.
I find typically I’m anywhere between 8 to 35 feet depending upon the available GPS. So I suppose at one point there’d be courses that just can’t have that correction because it’s too dramatic because GPS is just so bad in that area.
I think this is really important as Toni says because when it’s right, it’s an incredible amount of information.
The other feature that I feel is really poor is that when we get our replays, even if we have marked every throw, the only throws that seemed to be shown as our distances of the ones that are outside of a gameplay therefore, the replay is to me pretty useless cause the stats are wrong. I really wanna know without having to look at every throw. I wanna know that I actually achieved a higher distance. I’m not out there measuring throws in a field. I’m measuring my throws on the course.… An actual fact, I’m not measuring anymore because it doesn’t seem to matter. I’ve just gone to the hit the button if you got a T and hit the minus if I got a birdie, add a bogey if I got a bogey, which is a little disheartening, but after a few replays of seeing that, none of my throws, you know I had one couple weeks ago that was a banger and yet when the replay came out, it wasn’t there. So those are the two points I know I said I only had one please forgive me. Thanks for your beautiful message Toni and thanks for all the work that everybody’s doing and you disc. I’m hopeful that they’re not spending all their time trying to sell the company and actually trying to continue to make the app worthwhile if it doesn’t get fixed as I’ve already played everything and know all the courses around here I may just go back to the free version. As these are the things I really want and if they’re not gonna be fixed, I don’t see the point of paying for it. Almost nobody does in my circles.
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions. “
A. Einstein
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Wow that was an aggressive reply to a reasonable explanation as to why GPS coordinates can vary so much. I have developed apps that depends on GPS readings and what I found is that you can’t expect a phone to be accurate to better than 3-5 meters, and that is with a modern phone in good weather and clear view of the sky. Your suggestion of a drift correction doesn’t really work, as you could literally mark a spot, walk away and come back 5 minutes later to the same spot and it would show your location as being different. In the best case scenario you might only be out a meter or two, in a poor signal area it could be several meters. Phones just don’t have a sophisticated enough GPS chip to maintain a repeatable accuracy that will enable what you are looking for. In fact the Measure Throw function in Udisc suffers the same issue and is only really a rough estimate.
Appreciate everyone’s replies here. There is no way to make GPS more accurate, especially in instances for service is spotty, but I totally understand that this is frustrating!
In terms of throws being recorded, @arnink, we are aware that these aren’t counted and totally understand the feedback around this. We’ll be sure to consider it for future updates!